
A will allows you to account for all of your assets and pass them on to your heirs. If you don’t have obvious heirs, like living relatives, you may put off writing a will or making an estate plan. We do not recommend this though. If you pass away without any kind of plan in place, the state is likely to take your assets. A Washtenaw County wills attorney can tell you more about how this process would work.
Will the State Try to Find My Living Relatives?
The state doesn’t just take someone’s stuff because they passed away without a will. Your assets are passed down in line with the state’s intestacy rules, meaning that your closest living relatives are likely to receive the bulk of your estate. The probate court will try to find a spouse, children, parents, or siblings. Then the search begins for more distant family members, like cousins, uncles, and nieces or nephews.
If you have any living relatives, the court will find them and try to give them your assets. When you have absolutely no one to leave your estate to, that is when the state of Michigan will finally decide to take your assets.
Why Should I Make an Estate Plan If I Don’t Have Living Relatives?
Even if you have no living relatives, there might be someone or some cause that you would want to leave your estate to. Think about this carefully before deciding that you don’t need a will and that you don’t care if the state takes your assets.
There may be a close friend that you can leave the estate to. If that fails, why not continue to support a charitable cause or organization after you pass? An estate planning lawyer can help you set up a trust or make other arrangements to support a good cause with your remaining assets.
Are Any Properties Not Subject to Intestacy Rules?
There are some properties that are not subject to rules about intestacy. If you have any of the following, they should already have beneficiaries and whether or not you have living relatives should not affect how they are distributed:
- Real estate owned as joint tenants
- Life insurance policies
- IRAs, 401(k)s, and other accounts with beneficiaries
- Any deed or account that is “payable on death”
- Any assets placed in a living trust
Meet With Our Estate Planning Lawyers
There’s no reason to give the state the final say when it comes to what happens to all of your assets. Instead, contact Collis, Griffor & Hendra to set up a consultation and get to work on an estate plan of your own. We’re ready to help you make a plan that keeps you in control.